Netglow

Privacy policy

Effective 11 November 2026

Our promises

  • No account and no sign in.
  • No ads and no advertising identifiers.
  • No analytics or tracking libraries.
  • Nothing you scan or name is sent to us. There is no server of ours.
  • No selling or sharing of data, because we do not collect any.

WiFi Network Scanner: Netglow is an Android app made by Marko Zanoski. It scans the Wi-Fi your phone is on. This policy explains what the app does with your data.

Permissions, and why

These are the permissions the app asks for, and why. Most are normal permissions that Android grants without a question.

Network accessTo scan the Wi-Fi you are on, and to run the ping, traceroute, port check and DNS lookup tools on the addresses you give. Netglow collects nothing and sends nothing to us.
Network and Wi-Fi state, and Wi-Fi changesTo see whether you are on Wi-Fi, which network it is, and to listen for devices announcing themselves on it.
LocationAsked only when you open the Wi-Fi name or nearby Wi-Fi, after an explanation in the app. Android requires it for those two things: the Wi-Fi name and the Wi-Fi channels and camera hotspots around you. Your location is never read or kept. Everything else works if you say no.
Nearby devices on your Wi-FiNewer versions of Android ask before an app talks to devices on your own network. Netglow needs it to find them.
NotificationsFor the note that a new device joined your Wi-Fi.
Run at startupSo that Background watch (Pro) starts again after your phone restarts.
Shizuku (optional)Only if you install Shizuku and allow Netglow. Netglow then reads the phone's list of neighbours on your Wi-Fi and, if you ask, blocks an app. Nothing it reads leaves your phone.
Usage accessAsked only on the Apps page, to show which apps used the network. You grant it in Android settings and can take it back there at any time.
Never asked forContacts, messages, photos, the microphone, the camera and your accounts.

What stays on your phone

  • The devices it finds. Their names, makers, addresses and the days they were online, so the app can show a history and a note on what joined today. With Pro, Background watch keeps its timeline here too.
  • Your names. The names you give devices, and your settings.
  • The names file. If you choose a folder, Netglow writes a plain devices.json file there with your devices and names. Only you pick that folder, through Android's own folder picker, and the file stays in it. Delete it whenever you like.

Netglow turns off Android backup for its own data, so none of this is copied to a cloud or to a new phone by the system. The names file is how your names move with you.

What leaves your phone

Nothing is sent to us. There is no server of ours, and the app has no analytics. Scans talk only to devices on your own Wi-Fi. The ping, traceroute, port check and DNS lookup tools talk to the address you type, and a DNS lookup asks a DNS server, as any lookup does. That traffic goes to the place you pointed it at, not to us.

Other apps

The Apps page can work with Firewall, our separate free app, to show which servers the apps on this phone talk to and to block an app. Netglow reads that list from Firewall on your phone and sends it nowhere. Netglow runs no VPN of its own. Without Firewall, the Apps page uses Android's own data use per app, which needs the usage access you grant in Android settings.

Payments

Pro is bought through Google Play, once. Google handles the payment under its own privacy policy. We receive no card details and no personal data from that purchase beyond what Google Play shows every developer in aggregate sales reports.

Third party data

Netglow ships with a trimmed copy of the IEEE list of hardware address makers, so it can name makers without asking anyone. The Inter and JetBrains Mono fonts are used under the SIL Open Font License.

This website

This site uses no cookies, no analytics and no outside fonts or scripts. If you pick a look at the foot of a page, your browser keeps that one word on your device so the next page opens in it. The site is hosted on Vercel, which keeps short server logs to run and protect the service.

Children

Netglow is a tool for adults and is not directed at children under 13. It collects no personal data from anyone.

Deleting your data

Everything Netglow keeps is on your phone. To remove it, clear the app's storage in Android settings or uninstall the app. Delete devices.json from the folder you picked if you want that gone too. There is nothing on our side to delete.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date.

Contact

Questions about privacy: zanoski.marko@gmail.com (write an email)